OPINION
Technical assistance disseminates a strong culture of E&S issues – and their solutions Teddy Deroy, Director for Europe, East and North Africa, IBIS Consulting
In emerging markets, investors systematically carry out environmental and social (E&S) assessments of the projects or companies they target. Technical assistance is invaluable in understanding such issues, which are sometimes little-known and often complex. Advice, training and the implementation of tools to provide a framework for good practices are all ways of managing E&S risks, in particular for climate, biodiversity and gender issues.
AN ARTICLE BY TEDDY DEROY Teddy Deroy trained as a chemical engineer (ESPCI Paris) and holds an MSc in Environmental Science (Imperial College London). He is now an expert in international standards and global issues (social, societal, land and ethical) in the African context. He is one of the founding directors of IBIS Consulting and manages the IBIS offices in East Africa (Kenya), North Africa (Morocco) and Europe (France). Before co-founding IBIS Consulting, Teddy Deroy was HSE Manager at Perenco in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a director at ERM France, where he managed the services for mergers and acquisitions and improving HSE performance.
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efore considering any operation, in particular in emerging markets, institutional investors (development banks, multilateral agencies, etc.), investment funds and other banking operators carry out environmental and social (E&S) assessments of the projects or companies they are thinking about investing in. These assessments are called “E&S Due Diligence” (E&S DD)1 and are used to determine whether improvements are necessary in terms of the environment, health, occupational safety, employment, land, biodiversity, etc., in order to comply with both local regulations and international standards. These standards include the E&S Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC),2 the conventions of the International Labour
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Organization (ILO),3 the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,4 the Equator Principles,5 as well as more thematic standards such as the Paris Climate Agreement6 and the 2X Challenge7 devoted to gender equality. On the operational side, E&S DD makes it possible to establish a contractual Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) which aims to correct any deviations from these standards. While these assessments are very useful, they are nevertheless limited to a rapid audit of companies as they focus on the main risks. This means that E&S DD does not propose a pedagogical component to clients concerning E&S standards, or assistance for the implementation of an ESAP. So this is where technical assistance (TA) becomes essential.
E&S DD should not be confused with environmental impact studies which are often a regulatory requirement. https://cutt.ly/jECNsoF https://cutt.ly/SEVe5fk https://cutt.ly/rEVrWDi https://cutt.ly/5EVrDYx https://cutt.ly/VEVrCti https://www.fr2xchallenge.org/
